Window washing is an established service that is often expensive, dangerous, labor intensive, and time-consuming. In the United States, high-rise window washing is governed by OSHA which has very specific standards with relation to safety. As a result, insurance, equipment, and labor make window washing cost prohibitive. For example, it may cost about $1 million to install a system, get the appropriate insurance policy, and hire washers to wash the windows of the 16 stories of a Los Angeles Condo building. For larger scale jobs, workers must lower themselves by rope and pulley or by a platform system, and there have been a large number of fatalities as a direct result of high-altitude window washing in the past 15 years, according to Health Day. Furthermore, a 50 story building may take a month or more to wash all the windows, according to the City Room blog of the New York Times.
In addition, experts agree that dirty solar panels don't produce as much power as clean panels. That loss may range as high as 25% in some areas according to the National Renewable Energy laboratory. Individual dealers have reported losses as high as 30% for some customers who failed to ever clean their panels. Global solar panel installation companies have frequently seen sizeable increases of solar efficiency on agricultural sites, of up to 30%. This has been proved by customers who have sent readings to prove solar panel cleaning has increased the output and efficiency of their array. On industrial and commercial sites there has have been increases of up to 60% and on residential arrays of up to 21%. These findings are confirmed by the World Academy of Science, Engineering & Technology, who say a drop in the efficiency of a solar photovoltaic (PV) panel is not desired. One of the contributing factors in the drop of efficiency in PV panels is the accumulated dust on the panel. Solar Energy Power Association notes that dirty solar panels can lose 20% of their energy output. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory puts that figure even higher, at 25%. Recent University research has shown that a dirty solar panel can lose 50% of its efficiency compared to a clean panel.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a method and system of providing a surface washing drone that can be controlled from a safe location to efficiently wash windows of high rises, solar panels, and other surfaces. The present invention meets these and other needs.